Chapter 183: Connections and Identity
Wei Xiao walked into the private room and said with a smile, “What just happened?”
Xia He couldn’t be bothered to respond, so Gu Qinghuan answered instead, “Nothing. Senior Xia and I had a small issue, and it’s already been resolved.”
Since she put it that way, Wei Xiao couldn’t press further. He simply took a seat between Xia He and Gu Qinghuan.
This seating arrangement was actually quite reasonable.
Although Xia He had arrived midway, in Wei Xiao’s eyes he held the highest status, so naturally he should be given the seat of honor.
Gu Qinghuan was the main person Wei Xiao had invited—if Xia He hadn’t shown up, she would have taken the main guest position. Now, she settled for second place.
As the host, it was perfectly normal for Wei Xiao to sit between the two of them.
Everyone had tacitly accepted this arrangement—the innermost seat had been left for Wei Xiao, and there was a seat separating Gu Qinghuan and Xia He.
The problem was, from Xia He’s perspective—
I can yield, but whether you can sit there or not should be something you ask me first.
Unfortunately, Wei Xiao neither asked nor made any polite gesture of refusal.
Xia He began to reconsider whether the Wei family was worth cooperating with.
Wei Yan did have some ability, but judging from the next generation… this wasn’t very promising.
He had already made it so obvious that he valued Gu Qinghuan, yet Wei Xiao still didn’t think to carefully consider how to treat her?
Gu Qinghuan didn’t bother with that. She and Jiang Chuchu leaned their heads together, discussing what to order.
Just then, Yu Xin arrived with Yu Yuan, and Jiang Chuchu immediately drove Qin Yue away:
“Go sit over there. Let Xinbao and Yu Yuan sit here.”
Qin Yue resigned himself, moving his teacup and utensils to sit beside Bai Hanshan.
The four girls huddled together, discussing dishes.
Gu Qinghuan turned to the boys: “Do any of you have allergies or dietary restrictions?”
They all shook their heads.
“Great,” she said, satisfied. “Then we can order whatever we want.”
They picked five dishes, then handed the menu to Wei Xiao, leaving a few for the boys to choose.
After ordering, Gu Qinghuan waited for the food, while Wei Xiao took the opportunity to ask about joining the student council.
She blinked. “You can just ask these two,” she gestured toward Xia He and Bai Hanshan. “The president and vice president are both here.”
Wei Xiao paused.
Wait—hadn’t she only introduced Bai Hanshan as vice president earlier? President… Xia He?
He hesitated, looking at Xia He, who smiled at him.
“Yes, I’m the current student council president.”
Yu Xin and Yu Yuan had only just arrived and were equally shocked upon hearing this.
Wei Xiao quickly recovered and politely began asking Xia He questions.
Jiang Chuchu pulled out her phone and messaged in their group chat:
[Why does he want to join the student council so badly?]
Gu Qinghuan immediately added Bai Hanshan, along with Yu Yuan and Qin Yue:
[What’s so attractive about the student council to Wei Xiao?]
Bai Hanshan glanced at her, feeling conflicted.
Xia He and Wei Xiao were still sitting right there chatting, and these people were gossiping in real time?
Still, seeing their eager expressions, he replied:
[For Wei Xiao, the advantages of Mingde’s student council lie in connections and identity.]
Connections referred to the internal members of the student council.
Compared to family background, the strength of each individual mattered more.
The more outstanding the talent, the more important it was to build relationships early. With resources and platforms, talent could grow into new power.
The Wei family didn’t lack money, and Wei Yan didn’t expect to firmly establish himself domestically within a few years.
So attracting talent and building their own network was more important.
From this perspective, Wei Yan’s vision was quite long-term.
Identity referred to the label of being a “student council member.”
It was like meeting someone from your hometown while away—you naturally felt closer. It created a sense of belonging.
If former members learned Wei Xiao was also part of the student council, they would feel a bit more affinity toward him.
Even if only as a conversation starter, it gave him an entry point.
As for successful alumni, once he joined, he could access records and find ways to connect with them.
Qin Yue: [Hearing it like this, the student council is way more impressive than I thought.]
Bai Hanshan: [Not even talking about far examples—near ones… your brother used to be vice president.]
Qin Yue: [What? I knew he was a member, but vice president?!]
Bai Hanshan: [Yes. The president at the time was Sheng Guixin, a very capable woman. You might find some information about her online.]
Gu Qinghuan searched her name. The latest news involving Sheng Guixin was about a scientific research project she couldn’t even understand.
Since it was reported by a national news agency, it was clear—even if Sheng Guixin wasn’t yet a leading figure, she definitely would be in the future.
As she marveled, Yu Xin sent a message:
[Then Qinghuan, as a student council member, is also very impressive!]
Bai Hanshan thought about it—it was true. He had always admired Gu Qinghuan’s interpersonal skills.
Yu Yuan: [How many people in the student council do you know now?]
Gu Qinghuan checked her contacts.
[Including President Xia and Vice President Bai—37 people.]
Bai Hanshan paused.
Wait… wasn’t the total number of members 38, including her?
Jiang Chuchu: [How do you know so many people?]
Gu Qinghuan: [I added them one by one. Like last time, I noticed yogurt in the shared fridge had expired, so I left a note. Two days later, a senior came to thank me, and we added each other.]
Jiang Chuchu: [You even care about other people’s yogurt expiration dates?!]
Gu Qinghuan: [Mainly because it was already opened and had been sitting there for over a week… checking the expiration date only takes a second.]
Gu Qinghuan: [But there was still half a box left. Such a waste—it hurt my heart.]
Qin Yue: [I think you care more about the yogurt than whether they’d get a stomachache…]
Gu Qinghuan: [That’s not true!]
Since she had no idea how to teach Wei Xiao about joining the student council anyway, and with Xia He present, she could just relax and focus on eating.
Wei Xiao’s level was nothing in Xia He’s eyes.
After getting a sense of him, Xia He lost interest.
Just as Bai Hanshan said, Wei Xiao was indeed following Wei Yan’s instructions—trying to use the student council as a talent pool and network for the Wei family.
People with this intention weren’t rare.
Under the table, Xia He gestured to Bai Hanshan: You handle it.
Bai Hanshan lowered his gaze.
Of course it would end like this. If Xia He hadn’t suspected Wei Xiao had ulterior motives toward Gu Qinghuan, he wouldn’t even have shown up.
The lunch went quite pleasantly.
Wei Xiao gained a lot of information, and under Xia He’s suggestion, even added Bai Hanshan as a contact—making him more confident about joining the student council.
They parted ways at the cafeteria entrance. Wei Xiao walked off alone, seemingly to make a phone call.
Gu Qinghuan, meanwhile, began thinking about Wei Xiao and Yu Yuan’s engagement.
He had chatted briefly with Yu Yuan during lunch, but remained polite and reserved.
It didn’t feel like he was particularly enthusiastic about the engagement.
If that was the case, the possibility of the Wei family taking the initiative to cancel it increased.
Regardless of how the Yu family would react, at least this would give Yu Yuan a better chance to leave.
After all, the Yu family valued “usefulness”—if Yu Yuan gradually lost her value, they might discard her.
However, considering the Yu family’s long-term investment in her, letting go wouldn’t be easy…
“What are you thinking about?” Xia He asked.
Gu Qinghuan snapped out of her thoughts and said seriously,
“I was thinking—how does the future head of the Xia family, so busy with everything, still find time to come eat at a high school cafeteria?”
Before he could answer, she added earnestly,
“Thank you.”
“For what?” Xia He felt a bit uncomfortable.
“He had ill intentions toward me. You noticed that, so you came personally and showed how much you value me—so he’d give up targeting me.”
Xia He sighed. “If you noticed, why didn’t you avoid him?”
Gu Qinghuan shrugged.
“Because I also want to learn something through him. And honestly, I only realized his ill intent after you revealed your identity and I observed your reaction.”
She said seriously,
“Don’t worry. I’ll be careful. I won’t put myself in danger.”
She still had many tasks to complete—she couldn’t be defeated so easily.
Xia He almost reached out to pat her shoulder or head, but stopped himself. That would be too intimate.
Instead, he said, “As your backer, I won’t let anything happen to you either. Otherwise, I’d lose face.”
He wouldn’t let any cloud hides the sun.
